Why Clothing Donations Can Make a Huge Difference

If you’re looking to raise donations for a local charity, see if the charity takes clothing donations in addition to money. It may encourage more people in the community to donate because they feel like they can — money may be tight for some families, but they may have clothing or household appliances they can donate in lieu of cash or a check. Offering to pick up clothing donations is another great way to boost donations and make things easier for people who want to donate, but may not have the time to get their items to a drop off location or for those who are homebound. If you’re looking for the prime time of when to donate clothes, in between seasons is perfect, as people are looking to clean out their closets and change over their wardrobes for the new season.

Why Is Taking Both Clothing Donations and Financial Donations a Good Idea?
If the charity organizations you’re raising money for allow clothes donations, you may be able to just get more donations generally. The clothing can be sent to people in need or can be re-purposed by the organization in a secondhand store, to raise funds for programs or outreach that they do. It allows people different options for how to be generous and give back to the community, in a low-pressure way that will ultimately make them feel good about giving back.

See if the charitable organization also is tax-exempt and if donors can get a tax write-off when they donate items. Name brand items, coats, boots, and other pricey items can add up; men’s overcoats and suits, for example, are worth around $60 as a tax write-off. If those items are just sitting around someone’s home, they may be looking for a good opportunity to clear out.

How Can I Make Donations Easier?
If you’re advertising in community centers like libraries, banks, or post offices, with flyers, you want to make the information as clear cut as possible. Which charity you’re sponsoring, what kind of donations you’re looking for, when donations should be in by, and where donations can be collected. If you’re going door-to-door, have flyers of information to leave with people. In both instances, offering to pick up clothing donations is a great way to make the process as hassle-free as possible. If you can’t pick up clothing donations, ask local businesses or a centralized place like a library if they’d be willing to serve as a collection point.

When people know what to expect and have clear-cut guidelines to follow, donations may flow easier. And having clearly designated pick-up or drop-off points and times helps avoid confusion and frustration.

What are Some of the Benefits of Clothing Donations?

As mentioned before, clothing donations can be used for multiple purposes — both to help those in need and to fund programs and charities that help those in need. For those donating, it can be a great way to de-clutter their own closets while still making a difference. Even better, people at any age can contribute to the charitable effort — children may find great delight in choosing clothing they’ve outgrown or no longer wear to donate, and it teaches them a valuable lesson in philanthropy at the same time.

Furthermore, clothing donations and recycling or re-purposing clothing helps keep textiles out of the landfills. Almost 100% of textiles that end up in landfills could have been recycled, yet 10.5 million pounds of clothing end up in American landfills annually. We each throw out about 70 pounds of textiles every year, which seriously adds up. We only donate or recycle about 15% of our clothing and we could do so much better — charitable clothing donations offer a way to do that.

If you’re fundraising for a charity, seeing whether they’ll accept other kinds of donations, like clothing or household appliances is a worthy question to ask. Whether you pick up clothing donations or organize a centralized drop-off for donations, you’ll know that you’re effecting change.